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Trying to shed a few extra pounds? Don't worry that you'll have to starve yourself or do grueling workouts.

Let us help you get back into shape with simple, logical steps and all we need from your side is some persistence and lot of determination!

Here are ten simple strategies that will help you with your aim of losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks!

1. Stop Skipping Meals.

Slashing one meal per day from your meal seems like a logical way to peel off a few pounds. For instance if you stop eating breakfast typically 500 calories), you'll cut 3,500 calories in several days, roughly the amount needed to burn off one bound.

Trouble is, what miss at one meal you often more than make up for at the next. In a recent study found that breakfast eaters consumed a diet lower in fat and having breakfast may reduce the impulse for snacking on high - calories, high off foods.

Obesity specialist Dr. C. Wayne Callaway says skipping any meal can lower metabolism, which normally speeds up to help digest food. Let's say your body at rest burns 1600 calories daily. If you skip breakfast, you use up 80 fewer calories per day. But if you eat breakfast, your sluggish metabolism revs up to burn those 80 calories. After about 15 months you could burn an extra 35,000 calories, the equivalent of ten pounds.

2. Whole grains Are Best For Weight Loss.

Say bye to processed and refined foods!

We also are strong advocates of “Say No” to packaged food since it contains a solid dose of salt and sugar, not to forget a topping of preservatives!

Whole grains, oats, wheat, porridge is your new best friends whom you take everywhere with you!

3. Go Vegetarian Twice a Week.

Dr. Dean Ornish at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, made headlines when he found the diet and life - style changes could help reverse atherosclerosis, the formation of fatty build - up on the arterial walls. But Ornish also discovered that the low - fat vegetarian diet he prescribed to help unclog arteries can trim waistlines as well. During the first year of his study, patients lost an average of 22 pounds.

This outcome was unexpected because most of the patients were eating more. Dr. Lee Lipsenthal, an Ornish colleague, explains it this way:"A candy bar and a bunch of fresh broccoli have roughly the same number of calories. After eating the candy bar you probably won't feel full. But you'll feel stuffed if you eat the broccoli."

Luckily, you don't need to become a full-time vegetarian to lost weight. Start by replacing meat in two meals per week. Two meatless meals a week could save you 550 or more calories per week - ten pounds in 16 months.

4. Small Portions Kick High Metabolism.

First of all, go small on your portions. Reduce them to half of your present quantity and spread them over six meals.

5. Water Maintain Hydration.

At wiki-fitness, we worship Water and believe that it is an elixir of all life.

More importantly, it is one inexpensive and easily available ingredient that helps in weight loss. For the starters, it reduces water retention in the body which helps in toning muscles.

Water regularizes your metabolism and is better than the sports drinks and similar add-ons that are loaded with calories, for a post workout intake. (3)

At times, thirst manifests itself like hunger so we advise- try drinking a glassful of water when hunger strikes at odd times. Maybe it is a simple case of thirst!

6. Pro-Proteins Build Muscle To Burn More Calories.

Make sure every meal of yours has proteins like lean meat, lentils and cottage cheese.

Steer clear of red meats that pile on a lot of bad cholesterol in the body.

The next question is ‘whey proteins?’

Proteins strengthen your muscles and are necessary, especially if you practice intense exercise. All the damage, muscle building and toning is directly dependent on your protein intake. (4, 5)

7. Skip Late - Night Munches.

A key obstacle to dropping extra pounds is after - dinner snacking. "If you're had a tough day at the office or trouble with the kids, you may eat more than normal to unwind," says medical researcher John Foreyt. He suggests you plan evenings so you're away from tempting situations. Take an adult - education course or go for a walk around the neighborhood. If you can't distract yourself from eating, try noshing on a low - calorie snack like a piece of fresh fruit.

8. Cardio Exercise Are Best To Burn More Calorie In Less Time.

Cardio exercises are your best bet when it comes to weight loss.

It increases your heart rate and pump up your stamina to lose those extra pounds. If gym and conventional exercises are not your things, then go to dance classes that go really intense.

A class of Zumba or power yoga will not only take your breath away but the tone you like a dream!

9. Get an Exercise Buddy To Stay Motivated.

Exercising and sticking to it every single day is one hell of a job!

Most of the time we are either too lazy to get going or too tired or too late….. excuses are many, but the loss is definitely only ours!

So, get a workout buddy or buddies. This makes the workout more enjoyable and if one is down, then rest will lift his spirits and encourage to hit that treadmill.

Exercise can be a great bonding time between partners and a great way to spend some time together as well!

10. High Intensity Interval Training Is The Best Way To Lose Weight.

This concept has been around for a while, but has suddenly caught everyone’s interest, but for once it is not smoke without fire.

HIIT involves going gently into your exercise and then give it an intense spike for a few minutes before returning to the normal level.

This technique can be incorporated into your running routine easily where you begin with a jog, then break into a sprint for a few minutes, go back to jogging for minutes and repeat.

Taken individually, any of these ten strategies can help with weight loss. While the result will be slow in coming, they will stem from the behavioral changes that are easy to live with. And that's the real secrete to weight loss success - changing the habits that made you gain weight in the first place.

Okinawa is an archipelago off the coast of Japan, known for its population's life expectancy rate; women live on average till 86 and men till about 78 years old. Islanders have a very long life expectancy due to their super-healthy lifestyle and diet. Luckily for westerners their diet is relatively straight forward so anyone can adopt their healthy lifestyle.

Good genes also have great importance in their life expectancy, but the main difference between their diet and westerners is theirs is low in fat and calories. The diet of the inhabitants of Okinawa is semi-vegetarian and contains very little fat (less than 25% calories from fat). This diet not only helps you eat healthy but also lose weight and stay lean. The average calorie consumption by Okinawa's people is only 1,100 calories daily, which is almost half of the average calorie consumption of a western diet.

Reports suggest that, on an average, a typical Okinawan may live for about 110 years of healthy productive life. This is partly because of their genetic makeup. However, recent community research studies on Okinawa population suggest that the most important factor influencing their longevity is the simple food they eat, passed to them through their ancestors for centuries.

Salient features of Okinawa diet:

1. Calorie restricted diet: The diet of the Okinawan people is 20% lower in calories than an average Japanese consume. Their diet consistently averaging no more than one calorie per gram and the average Okinawan has a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 20. It has been widely recognized that the food consumed itself contains more free-radicals than through the external agents like bacteria, viruses, etc. Calorie restriction, therefore, thought to improve health and slow the aging process in some animal models like rodents by limiting their dietary energy intake below daily-average needs.

3. Low in fat and sugar: The Okinawa diet is low in fat and has only 25% of the sugar and 75% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake. Low-fat and limited sugar in the diet can definitely help prevent coronary heart diseases and stroke risk.

4. Vegetarian and seafood rich: The islander's traditional diet includes a relatively small amount of fish and somewhat more in the way of soy, low calorie vegetables like bitter melon, and other legumes. Almost no meat, eggs, or dairy products are consumed. Fish provides omega-3 essential fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid(ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Soy (in the form of tofu), besides being a very good source of protein, contains health promoting compounds like soluble dietary fiber, antioxidant tannins, and plant-sterols. Altogether, these phyto-nutrients offer protection against heart diseases, stroke, colon, and prostate cancers.

Advocates of Okinawa diet, divide food items into four categories based up on their caloric density, as follows:

The "featherweight" foods: Food groups that provide less than or equal to 0.8 calories per gram belong to this category. Citrus fruits like orange; low calorie vegetables like spinach, cucumber, etc. One can eat freely many servings per day without major concern.

The "lightweight" foods: Food items with a caloric-density from 0.8 to 1.5 calories per gram fall in this category. Certain fruits like banana and vegetables like potato are examples in this category. One should consume these in moderation.

The "middleweight" foods: Food group having a caloric-density from 1.5 to 3.0 calories per gram, such as cereals like wheat, legume products, and lean meat included under this category. It is advised that one should eat only while carefully monitoring portion size.

The "heavyweight" foods: Food items which provide 3 to 9 calories per gram (300 to 900 calories per 100 g) belong in this category. Many oils and fats, nuts, oil seeds and red meat fall in this category, which one should eat only sparingly.

Top Longevity Foods from Okinawa

SWEET POTATOES

Okinawan imo is a supercharged purple sweet potato, a cousin of the yellow-orange sweet varieties. Despite its sweet, satisfying taste, the imo does not spike blood sugar as much as a regular white potato. The leaves are eaten as greens in miso soup. Like other sweet potatoes, it contains antioxidants called sporamin, which possess a variety of potent antiaging properties.

BITTER MELONS

Known as goyain Okinawa, bitter melon is often served with other vegetables in a stir-fried dish called goya champuru, the national dish and cornerstone of the Okinawan diet. Recent studies found bitter melon an “effective anti-diabetic” as powerful as pharmaceuticals in helping to regulate blood sugar.

BROWN RICE

In Okinawa, where centenarians eat rice every day, both brown and white rice are enjoyed. Nutritionally, brown rice is superior. Okinawan brown rice, tastier than the brown rice we know, is soaked in water to germinate until it just begins to sprout, unlocking enzymes that break down sugar and protein and giving the rice a sweet flavor and softer texture.

SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

These smoky-flavored fungi, which grow naturally on dead bark in forests, help flavor Okinawan’s customary miso soup and stir-fries. They contain more than 100 different compounds with immune-protecting properties. Purchased dried, they can be reconstituted by soaking or by cooking in a liquid like a soup or sauce, and most of their nutritional value remains.

TOFU

Tofu is to Okinawans what bread is to the French and potatoes are to Eastern Europeans: a daily habit. Okinawans eat about eight times more tofu than Americans do today. Along with other soy products, tofu is renowned for helping to protect the heart. Studies show that people who eat soy products in place of meat have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which reduce their risk of heart disease.

SEAWEEDS: (KOMBU AND WAKAME)

Seaweeds in general provide a filling, low-calorie, nutrient-rich boost to the diet. Kombu and wakame are the most common seaweeds eaten in Okinawa, enhancing many soups and stews. Rich in carotenoids, folate, magnesium, iron, calcium, and iodine, they also possess at least six compounds found only in sea plants that seem to serve as effective antioxidants at the cellular level. Both are sold dried and packaged in the United States.

TURMERIC

Ginger’s golden cousin, turmeric figures prominently in the Okinawan diet as both a spice and a tea. A powerful anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agent, turmeric contains several compounds now under study for their antiaging properties, especially the ability to mimic caloric restriction in the body. Its compound curcumin has shown in both clinical and population studies to slow the progression of dementia — which may explain why Okinawans suffer lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease than Americans do.

Have you heard of the new French diet? The latest import from France, the Dukan Diet is altering the way people think about dieting. Doctor Dukan created a method that offers more than flavorless cardboard fake food and it is not a heart-attack waiting to happen with fats and fatty steaks. During the Dukan Diet, you can enjoy delicious, nutritious foods during every stage of the diet.

In short, the Dukan Diet is a four-stage diet where you shed pounds quickly and avoiding gaining back the weight you lost.

Phase One: Attack You start in the first phase called the "attack" phase - lean proteins are your first stage of attack on your fat. You will only eat lean proteins, chicken, seafood, lean beef and lean ham as advised by Dr. Dukan. You can use lemon juice on fish or chicken. Stay away from fatty meats. You can enjoy shellfish like lobster and shrimp during this phase.

Phase Two: Cruise In the cruise phase or second stage, a long list of approved vegetables is added and alternated with the all-protein days. Examples are lettuce, chard, spinach and broccoli. Avoid starchy vegetables.

Phase Three: Consolidation During the third or consolidation phase, you will begin to add in bread, low-fat butter, fruits, pasta and the other foods you enjoy. Not a free-for-all, Dr. Dukan gives instructions for what foods and how much to eat during this phase.

Phase Four: Stabilization In the final phase or stabilization, you can eat just about anything - six days a week. On the seventh day, you will go back to the all-protein diet from the first phase.

What's on the Dukan Diet Menu During the first phase, Dr. Dukan shares lots of terrific recipes to get you creatively thinking about recipes of your own. With tons of options like shellfish and chicken, lean ham and lean beef, you have good proteins to start with. Dukan suggests using spices liberally to make delicious dishes. Try grilled shrimp with herbs, sashimi, lemon garlic chicken on the grill, eggs scrambled with basil or chervil and more.

During the cruise phase, you can enjoy all of those good proteins along with tons of yummy veggies. Again, Dr. Dukan gives recipes to assist you during the diet including one for beef and vegetable kabobs and some other terrific and easy to execute recipes. What you can and cannot eat in each phase are clearly explained, so it is not hard to develop your own creative recipes within the guidelines.

During the third and fourth stages - you can enjoy bread, fruit, cheese and other foods. The guidelines are specific about how much you can eat of the newly added foods each day. How much weight you have lost during the first two stages will determine how long you will stay in the third phase. For anyone who has a sweet tooth, Dr. Dukan also offers some fantastic dessert recipes that you can enjoy while dieting.